Stilljes Blogs: October 2012

I had a pie pumpkin. This morning, I roasted it and puréed that puppy. That's as far as I got.

I started looking for recipes for muffins, and kept finding recipes loaded with sugar, oil, and a billion eggs. Pumpkin is so nutritionally dense, it seemed like a sin to load up the muffins with crud.

I found a recipe, but decided that I needed to put my own spin on it. Not because I'm a particularly good baker or creative, but because I only have blackstrap molasses and would end up with battery-flavored pumpkin muffins.

Also, I have about a quart of applesauce frozen in cubes in my freezer from last month's domesticity spree. I'd intended to feed it to dear baby Marty. However, applesauce apparently halts the boy's digestive tract. Completely stops him up. Yep, here's me talking about baby poo next to that photo of beautiful fresh pumpkin puree.

Sure I could have replaced the vegetable oil with the applesauce, but I was a bit worried about water content with the fresh pumpkin. Plus, I liked how this recipe included both coconut oil and the applesauce, ensuring they'd remain moist and light.

First, assemble your kitchen staff and ply their cooperation by feeding them spoonfuls of pumpkin puree.

Next, assemble ingredients. Do people actually do this in real life? Food bloggers always take a photo of all the ingredients in a happy little family, but I take things out and put them back as I use them. You can't change me, internet. I will pretend. At least the ugliness of this image really shows how clear it is that I'm pretending.

Throw all that stuff in a bowl and mix it up, and toss it into a muffin tin.

And viola:

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Adapted from

I Thought I Knew Mama

1 2/3 cup of whole wheat flour

1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon cloves
3/4 teaspoon of salt

1 cup of pureed pumpkin (NOT CANNED)

1/2 cup of coconut oil
3/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
2 large eggs
1/4 cup of water
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Mix dry ingredients. Make a well, then add wet ingredients. Spoon batter into mini muffin tin, regular muffin tin, or both. Bake mini muffins for 20 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Bake regular muffins for 30 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.

Yield:

24 mini muffins

12 regular muffins

12 mini muffins and 9 regular muffins